US2UK – Transporting Salt & Pepper (Tow Vehicle & Travel Trailer)

Please note that the information provided here are the steps we took to bring our vehicle and trailer over for a visit.  If you are intending to remain in the U.K. or Europe, there will undoubtedly be more items on your checklist.  But to bring a vehicle over temporarily, it is quite simple.  Also, this posting does not cover the steps we took to get Salt’s systems to work in the U.K. and Europe – that will be coming soon (or soon after we get over there and figure it all out.)

When it comes down to it, there are very few items that need to be done in order to transport your vehicle and trailer to the UK.  (But then again, maybe I think this because Alan has done the lion’s share of the work.)  But timing is very important, so start the process early.

First, you should get comfortable with the Roll on/Roll off (RORO) type of transportation.  RORO requires that someone drive your vehicle and trailer onto the vessel where it is strapped down but not put in a cargo container.  Given our love for the Salt & Pepper, we were not thrilled about the prospect of having someone driving them on and off (and on and off – there will likely be at least one vessel change in the journey) but sometimes you simply have no choice.  Once you are comfortable with that part, set about hiring a freight forwarder.

For the freight forwarder, Alan received bids from five different firms, two of which came via uship.com, a freight forwarding bidding site.  A couple of items to look for:  Do they include Marine Insurance in your bid?  Do they provide agents on each end of the trip to guide you through customs and the export/import requirements?  Being new to this, we also wanted someone with whom it was easy to communicate—not only language-wise but also the method of communication (email, telephone, etc.)  We opted for a firm based in the U.K. (Hill Shipping), they were not the cheapest nor the most expensive, but we put a premium on having the firm located in the country where we would be passing through customs (figuring this would be the trickiest, and most difficult set of requirements to understand, we wanted to be able to rely on local knowledge.)

Once the selection was made the lists began anew:  News to us was that we could not pack anything inside of Salt (we had asked this to many of the forwarders before and the answers varied from “sure as long as it is strapped down” to “no.”  Hill’s answer was closer to “no.”)  Basically, both vehicles need to be able to be opened at will by a customs agent, which is understandable.  The risk of theft is, apparently, high on the open seas so the shipping companies make it a point of stating that they will not accept anything packed inside either vehicle.  (This left us with a ton of checked baggage, but that is yet another posting.)  And to top it off, marine insurance will not cover theft.  None the less, when the final packing came we did leave some items inside of Salt:  Dishes, pots, pans and linens; but all items that we would not be heartbroken to see stolen.

Also not allowed onto the vessel:  LP Tanks unless they have been purged and certified (costly to have performed at $50-$100/tank, so we opted to just buy new ones when we arrive in the U.K.) and no more than a quarter of a tank of gas in the tow vehicle.

We had to ship the Pepper’s title (actual title) over to the freight forwarder who will apparently return it to us on the other end (Salt’s title was not required as it is not considered a moving vehicle.)  Speaking of the other end, you must have secured international vehicle insurance for both vehicles prior to driving them away in the U.K.   We selected THUM Insurance as an agent for this, they are located in the U.S. and can provide the needed coverage and the “green card” required for driving overseas.

As I mentioned before, timing is the biggest concern.  These RORO vessels do not leave every day nor even every week.  From Galveston, they seemed to leave once a month.  Indeed, all the bids we received mentioned the same sailing date out of Galveston so clearly the forwarders are all using the same vessel.  The actual shipping date is likely to vary by a few days, but you still need to have your vehicles at the dock up to ten days prior to loading (the freight forwarder will give you the exact date.)  Couple these ten days with two more port stops, a two week crossing, a change of vessel in Europe and it quickly adds up to over six weeks before you will see your rig again.  That is hard to take.  So plan ahead!  Missing one boat means adding another four weeks to your itinerary.

After the weeks and weeks of preparation, the actual dropping of Salt & Pepper was anticlimactic (if you leave out the heartache and indigestion.)  We were given driving directions to the Port and had to be escorted onto the dock by the local agent.  He drove us to the parking area where we removed the license plates (easily stolen so it is highly recommended to remove them before loading) unplugged Salt from the Pepper (but left them hitched), took a few pictures, received two flimsy pieces of paper in exchange for our beloved rig and walked away. 

It will really be something when we see them arrive in Southampton!

-K

US2UK - The Time Has Come!

With apologies to our dear friends and relatives on the eastern seaboard, we are skipping out earlier than planned for Europe.  We aren't really sure what has provided the impetus to leave early, but now that we are working on it, something has become quite evident:  It is a good thing we didn't wait until May or June to attempt an arrival into London.  Hello?  Olympic year!

For those of you placing bets on when the Real Alan & Kit would show up in all this, you will be happy to hear they made multiple appearances while booking the logistics of getting from Houston to Heathrow and living without Salt & Pepper for close to six weeks.  


The Plan:  
February 13:  Drop off Salt & Pepper at the docks in Galveston, Texas, renting a Cadillac Escalade (hey, we needed something BIG) for our transportation.  
February 14:  Hopefully Kit is in line at the US Passport office in Houston getting a new passport issued.
February 17:  The Noses have their 10-day health certificates prepared in Ingleside.
February 18-25:  Who knows?  Free time - back to fishing?
February 26:  Everyone drives to Houston.
February 27:  The Noses are dropped at British Air World Cargo at noon; we check-in at 2:30; board the plane at 3:30; immediately change into our First pajamas; allow them to hand us champagne and settle into our little cocoons.  I don't think B.A. First will ever have looked so good.  (By the way, we used credit card points for the airline tickets -- we haven't gone completely off the deep end!)


We have arranged to stay in London for six nights (three to recover, three to Make A Plan) and selected the Presidential Apartments in Kensington.  Not only do they have fully furnished, gorgeous apartments, but they allow dogs and, get this, are located across the street from Barkston Park. 

Since Salt & Pepper will not arrive into South Hampton until March 24, we are planning on renting an RV and touring the UK and some of the islands while we wait. 


Now I am off to look, for the hundreth time, absolutely everywhere for my passport.


-K

US2UK - Transporting The Noses (Dogs)

Since we struggled and struggled for well over a year to learn everything that needed to be known (or so we hope) about transporting pets, trailers, cars and people from the U.S. to the U.K., I thought I would create a few posts that might be helpful to others thinking of doing the same.  


This one is for dogs (obviously) - there will be another one for Cars and Trailers, but, alas, nothing for people as you all know what there is to know about that.  However, I would advise not losing your passport three weeks before your flight and having your Certificate of Naturalization locked away in a safety deposit box in California when you are in Texas; but other than that, I don't think we have anything special to share.


Basics on Dogs - Preparation Steps:
1) In 2012 getting dogs into the U.K. from the U.S. became much easier, so forget all the horror stories you have heard about quarantine and learn the new stuff.


2) Bookmark the DEFRA website - Traveling with Pets, specifically the Pet Travel Scheme, read all the documentation, including the actual form (and notes) for the Third Country Veterinary form.


3) Bookmark the APHIS/USDA website - Importing/Exporting Animals and read everything relating to exporting dogs from the U.S.


4) Make sure you are flying on an approved carrier and on an approved route (we did British Air out of Houston.)


5) Find a nice, helpful Vet, preferably one with exporting knowledge.


Definitely read all you can from each website multiple times, sometimes the language is very difficult to follow, although they clearly did a better job in 2012 than 2003.


Basics on Dogs - The Required Steps:
For getting into the U.K. from the U.S., it has become quite simple (this is offered as an introduction -- be sure you understand and follow the guidelines from the websites above):


1) Get your dog micro-chipped - must be with an international chip as some chips used the U.S. are not readable by the European devices.


2)  After micro-chipping, get it vaccinated for rabies - very important!  This must happen after the micro-chipping.  


3)  Get a signed letter from your Vet stating the date of the micro-chipping, the date of the vaccination and all pertinent vaccination information required by the Third Country Veterinary Form. Make sure the letter states the dogs' micro-chip number.


4) Ten (10) days before departure, get a Third Country Veterinary Form and an International Health Certificate filled out by a Vet--it doesn't have to be the same vet who performed the micro-chipping and rabies vaccination.  The Vet will need originals of the letter mentioned above and the certificate of rabies vaccination.


5)  Five (5) or fewer days before departure get your dog treated for Tapeworm.  Must be administered by the vet--be sure the treatment includes the active ingredient listed in the Third Country Veterinary Form.


6) Get your documents certified by APHIS/USDA:  The Third Country Veterinary form, the International Health Certificate form, the letter from your vet stating the date of the micro-chipping, and a signed rabies vaccination certificate must be mailed to the local ASPHIS/USDA office for a certification stamp.  The vet who prepared the forms should send this out for you overnight with tracking, including the fees and a return overnight label.


As I mentioned, we are flying on British Air.  They have you drop your dogs at BA World Cargo four hours before your flight.  The dogs do fly on the same plane as you, but are handled by the World Cargo staff.  More information about traveling with pets on British Air can be found here on their website.


Hopefully our preparation will pay off and all four of us will be landing in Heathrow (and be able to leave) on February 28!


-K


UPDATE:  Getting the Pet Passports completed in London turned out to be a great idea.  They were required when we boarded the ferry to France and, now in other countries, many campgrounds require them as well.